Giro d'Italia

[Fausto]

A great start for team Sky and Brad Wiggins. Lovely looking Pinarello they're riding.

Shame the tour of California has robbed the field of some key riders but I love the Giro.
Good to hear David Hammond putting the boot into Vino today, saying he had no time for him because not only did he cheat but he has refused to 'fess up and say sorry.

Come on Carlos Sastre I say.

[longeared]

Giro d'Italia

Cracking ride from Wiggo. Be interesting to see what happens if he is still in contention after a couple of weeks of the race, whether he'll ease up for the Tour or keep challenging for the Giro. Looking good for him today as well, should be a sprint and hopefully he'll keep the lead.

I'd like to see Sastre take another Grand Tour win, although not sure if he is past his best now. Nibali could be a good outside bet.

What's happened to the pink jersey? It doesn't seem to be very, well, pink these days.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Giro d'Italia

Bumpety-bump, seeing as I've managed to use my hard-drive recorder properly to see the last couple of stages.

Quite amusing today (for all the reasons previously outlined by Toro and others on OTF peloton threads) to see Vino slapping his own arse in frustration as the 5th man dropped off the back of his team time-trial train and cost him (he thought at the time) another day in pink.

Looks like liquigas will dominate the next week to protect Nibali or Basso or both.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Giro d'Italia

In the midst of all the Landis fallout

of even Eurosport neglecting it (starting to piss me off that they drop the live coverage of cycling at weekends in favour of fucking motor racing; plus when the women's Champions League final over-ran the other night the Giro highlights disappeared, but we still went live to the very early moments of a stage of Tour of California)

can I just say this Giro d'Italia gets more incredible every day?

Yesterday's climb of the Zoncolan was brilliant and looking at the profiles for tomorrow (today's a rest day) onwards, it still has loads of climbs and potential shifts and changes to come.

Sastre rode well to stay in contention yesterday, tho'I still think Liquigas have the strength in depth to make it Basso's more than likely.

[Fausto]

Giro d'Italia

The Zoncolan is a mental climb isn't it? To see top athletes just suffering like that. I'm warming to Cadel Evans, I have to say. He's complex and grouchy and he's certainly no stylist but he is a battler. he's ridden solo for years in shite teams and yet he's still a contender.
I don't like to see basso getting any glory though. One of Armstrong's lickspittles.

[Billy Casper]

Giro d'Italia

Ditto your Cadel Evans comments for me too Fausto. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift with him, and he looks about as graceful as I do on a bike, but I'm starting to warm to him too.

I might even have an each way bet on him for the Tour, seeing how he was 28-1 last time I checked.

[longeared]

Giro d'Italia

I've admired Cadel a lot more over the last year or so, since he started riding more positively and pleasingly it's getting him some excellent results. He also deserves some sympathy for having the worst nickname in the peloton "Cuddles"

Been a fabulous race so far though, and you still can't pick a winner with any degree of certainty.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Giro d'Italia

But his real nickname should be 'Tubbs'. (Not referring to Miami Vice...)

I'm not warming to him at all. The throwing punches last week just the latest in childish strops he seems to specialise in.

I'm supporting Scarponi-the oldest looking 29-year old on tv, and a man who dribbles phlegm at the top of long climbs, just like a real person. Well, me anyway.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Giro d'Italia

Great stuff here - Basso was always a terrible descender, but fuck me - this is great stuff by Arroyo.

I've warmed a lot to Evans in the last year or two. He's become a much more aggressive, exciting rider, and really is a worthy wearer of the Rainbow jersey.

I used to like Scarponi a lot. Now I hope he crashes horribly, the emaciated Puerto fuck.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Giro d'Italia

Vino is being, well, Vino. What a dick.

[Fausto]

Giro d'Italia

I don't know though. you get the feeling there are quite a few a-holes in the peloton and that many of them deserve to be punched. Evans might be a renaissance man you know. he plays the piano, is multi-lingual and he is complex. His political views and charity work are laudable. Perhaps he's one of the few lone voices in the peloton. He seems a bit of an outsider who fights his corner.
Then again.........

Shame Basso is going to win. Who says crime doesn't pay?